UK cities bidding to be Capital of Culture have hopes dashed

UK CITIES bidding to be crowned the 2023 European Capital of Culture have had their hopes dashed by Brussels as a result of Brexit, prompting a furious political backlash.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was “dismayed” by the decision, while the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it was “deeply disappointed”.

Downing Street said non-EU members had been awarded the title before, but the European Commission said the decision was “one of the many concrete consequences” of Brexit.

Five UK bids were competing to host the European Capital of Culture, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on their entries. Officials said urgent discussions were being held with Brussels about the apparent Brexit ban.

Nottingham, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Dundee and a joint Belfast-Londonderry-Strabane bid were all in the running for the accolade, which could provide a significant economic boost.

Arts Minister John Glen hit out at the “crazy decision”, adding: “My team at DCMS are speaking with the five cities right now on the way forward.”

At First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said: “I’m absolutely dismayed by the news that I’ve heard this morning from the European Commission that Dundee’s European Capital of Culture bid looks as if it is going to be the latest victim of the Tories’ obsession with taking this country out of the European Union.”